Westside Social Studies Instructor Bob Brousek was involved in creating the new Chinese History course that will be offered during the 2019-2020 school year starting second semester. Brousek said that one of his colleagues, Social Studies Instructor John Preister, was also interested in establishing the course. 

“Years ago, [Preister] discussed the need for there to be some coverage of Chinese history,” Brousek said. “[For the class this year we are doing] an independent study, [meaning] students will go online, do a lot of the coursework, then meet independently to go over material or to take exams.”

According to Preister, the idea of creating a Chinese history class came from two of his students. 

“There were two students [who] were very interested [in Chinese history], and they’ve taken most of the social studies classes already,” Preister said. “He [went] to Mr. Brousek and [asked] him if they could study Chinese history [as a class]. Mr. Brousek agreed [since they were] two really good students, and he decided it was going to be an online format. I found out about it from these two students as we were talking, and I went over and asked Mr. Brousek if I could be apart of it.”

Senior Ethan Yaroch, one of the students interested in the Chinese history class, said Brousek’s past experience with Chinese history inspired him to propose the idea of creating the class.

“Mr. Brousek said he did a class about Chinese history in college,” Yaroch said. “So I [expressed] interest in it, and he wanted to make [a] class out of it.”

Preister said that similar to Brousek, he has previous knowledge of Chinese history from taking courses in college.

“I studied a lot of Chinese history in college, and at one point I was going to do a Chinese history class in summer school, but only one student signed up so I didn’t get to,” Preister said. “I’ve taken four or five classes in my undergraduate, and read a lot of books [to] stay [caught] up on [Chinese history].”

Yaroch said his overall interest in history prompted him to enroll for the Chinese History class.

“I don’t really have a specific interest in Chinese history, but I’m passionate about history [itself],” Yaroch said. “I like to learn as much as possible about historical events, so I thought it would be a fun class to take.”

Yaroch said that even though the class is an independent study, he is still excited to take it. 

“I don’t mind [the class being an independent study], especially since it’s the second semester of my Senior year [and] I won’t really get credit anyway,” Yaroch said. “I’m just here to learn Chinese history [and] I don’t care about the independent study [aspect].”

Brousek said that any grade can sign up to take the class, however, it is not worth many credits.

“[The course will] probably [be] a credit three [class and] group three [difficulty level],” Brousek said. “[Grades] nine through twelve [can sign up for it].”

Brousek said that he played a large role in structuring and organizing the class, however, he is looking forward to learning more about Chinese history with the students enrolled in the course.

“I’m going to be learning a lot [about Chinese history] along with the students,” Brousek said. “[Although I have a lot of interest] in offering the course, I’ve been trying to structure and organize the class [so I can do] just as much learning as the students.”

Preister said that he is excited to teach the class and get reacquainted with Chinese history.

“I’m excited because these two students are pretty pumped about it, and they’re really good students,” Preister said. “I haven’t really done anything with Chinese history for four or five years, so I’m excited to dig back into it and really explore that again with them.”

Brousek said that he is interested in seeing how many people will join the class.

“I’m curious to see if [Chinese history] will have [enough students with] interest,” Brousek said. “For this first year, I’m guessing under ten [students will take Chinese history class].”

Brousek said he hopes the class will make it into the course booklet, and that students will understand more about China by the time they complete the class.

“I’d like this independent study to be so successful that [we can offer it in] our course booklet,” Brousek said. “I would [also] like to see that students would leave this course with a better understanding of not only Chinese history, but also an understanding of how and why [the past made] China’s role in our current modern-day situation what it is.”